Ready for the gentle turbulence?

Finally, time to take a deep breath. My last post was about climate change, the election news reveals hope to put things back in order. Democrats gained control of the House for the first time in 12 years. They are also set to win the final seat needed to take control of the US Senate. This was a tough message for Bush to take on and it clearly indicates that his days in the office are not going to be easy. Also for the first time, a woman (Nancy Pelosi) is going to be the US speaker, which is a fantastic development. On taking over as the speaker, Ms Pelosi will become second in line to succeed George W Bush, after the vice-president, under the US constitution. Also, in this election we see the first muslim congressman Keith Ellison, first socialist senator Bernie Sanders, first black northern governor Deval Patrick, and the longest serving Senate member Robert Byrd (88), all adding to the diversity.

The results would make many people happy, obviously some others not happy. Broadly speaking, the results can be a positive development for the people who are against the war, environmentalists, ethnic minorities, supporters of stem-cell research, supporters of abortion rights, and for people who are simply dissapointed with the Republicans. I think the votes were really an anti-Republican protest, not a pro-Democrat swing, but nevertheless, we see much needed changes in the government of the most politically powerful country on earth.